


Caramel Apples

by kiraisstillhere



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Caramel apples, Fluff, Harvest Festival, Kissing, M/M, Nicky/Erik don't show up until the end and that's barely anything, hand holding, they deserve some joy okay, this is just cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 10:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12386361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiraisstillhere/pseuds/kiraisstillhere
Summary: Neil and Andrew go to a harvest festival for the first time.





	Caramel Apples

**Author's Note:**

> A little fluffy one-shot in a pumpkin patch for Halloween!

based off of this [tumblr post](http://characterdevelopmentforwriters.tumblr.com/post/166455076883/has-your-character-ever-had-a-candied-apple)! it just came to me and I had to write it.

\--

“It’s a caramel apple, Andrew,” Neil said in awe, staring through the glass as a college kid dipped the green apples into the giant bowl on the counter. Technically, the window was for kids who were visiting for the first time, but what was the difference with Neil?

 

Okay, so Andrew had never been to a harvest festival either, but that was beside the point. By the time Nicky had adopted them, neither Aaron nor Andrew were very interested in getting pumpkins or going through a corn maze, and neither had the temper for the long car ride to the farm that Nicky had in mind. But the point was that they were here now, and Nicky and Erik were somewhere else (probably lost in the corn maze - that was just something that Nicky would do), and Neil was acting like a six year old who had never had a piece of candy in his entire life.

 

“I know this, Neil,” Andrew said, and Neil could almost hear the amusement he was suppressing. Andrew couldn’t fathom why Neil would be obsessed with caramel apples - the idiot barely enjoyed normal candy and chocolate. Maybe Andrew did want to try the confection, but he wasn’t going to let Neil know that. He had probably already figured it out anyway, so Andrew figured that he didn’t have to go into any detail.

 

“Can we get one?” Neil asked, tearing his gaze away from the fruit.

 

“We?”

 

“I’ve never had one before, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you were always in a mood so you haven’t either. You probably didn’t have the time for a pumpkin patch when you were too busy being all stoic-”

 

“Neil, shut up.” Andrew reached for his pocket, but stopped. He looked back to Neil with raised eyebrows.

 

“What?”

 

“My turn in the guessing game.”

 

Neil groaned and rolled his eyes, but made no argument.

 

“You always drove past pumpkin patches on the highway, but you never got to celebrate Halloween so you didn’t understand why they were being advertised.”

 

From the way that Neil’s face remained in its pout, Andrew figured he had guessed correctly. To prove to Neil that he wasn’t a horrible person, he grabbed his wallet and fished ten dollars out to hand to Neil. 

 

“I want chocolate chips on my half of the apple,” he said. “I’m going to smoke.”

 

“Andrew,” Neil said, and even with his back turned he could feel Neil raise one eyebrow and tilt his head expectantly. Next thing he knew, Neil would be crossing his arms and looking like a teacher waiting for a kid to explain what they had done.

 

“Yes, dear?” Andrew asked mockingly, turning around to see Neil doing what he always did when he was going to try and get his way with Andrew (which was attempting to give puppy dog eyes that never worked). “What do you want, Neil.”

 

Neil jutted his lower lip out further. “Come inside with me. We can be domestic sometimes, you know.”

 

Andrew felt his eyebrow raise, even though he hadn’t meant for it to. “We can’t be domestic, we’re far from it.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and rested his weight on one foot. “And stop making faces unless you want yours to stay that way.”

 

Neil took two steps to close the space between them and looked Andrew in the eyes. “Come on, just this once? Nicky and Erik aren’t here, and there’s no smoking on the grounds anyway. You’d just be bitter in the car, waiting for us to come back.”

 

Andrew harrumphed. “I could just leave you three behind and make you walk back to Columbia. Actually, on second thought, I’d drag you with me because your dumb ass would hitchhike back.”

 

Neil pursed his lips. “Yes or no?” He asked quietly, under his breath so that the passerby couldn’t hear.

 

“Yes.”

 

Neil kissed Andrew softly, not trying to feel the burn, but instead spread his warmth to Andrew, who was always colder around the holidays, especially after Neil’s less-than-perfect winter break.

 

“Fucking junkie,” Andrew muttered, snatching the ten dollar bill out of Neil’s hand and shoving it into his pocket before grabbing Neil’s hand. “Come on. And stop looking all smug about this. Idiot.”

 

Andrew grumbled while they walked inside the little mock farmhouse and wouldn’t stop making faces while they stood in line, but he held Neil’s hand the whole time and made sure that half of the caramel apple had Halloween sprinkles for Neil, and half had chocolate chips for himself. He also made sure that they cut it into slices, because he was certain that Neil was stupid enough to try and take a bite of the apple without eating the layer of caramel first. He mumbled a “thanks” to the cashier before he and Neil left, walking down the wooden steps of the building and heading toward the bales of straw left for visitors to sit on.

 

They sat down next to each other, staring at the mud on their shoes. It had rained two days before, but the ground had apparently not received the memo to dry out.

 

“I’m going to have to wash these when I get home,” Neil said to no one in particular. Andrew had learned that Neil liked to think out loud, now that he didn’t have to stay quiet for anyone.

 

“We can just get you a new pair, Neil,” Andrew said through a bite of apple. “We’ll stop at the Nike outlet if you want.”

 

Neil sighed. “Gifts are for Christmas, Andrew. It’s October.”

 

Andrew shrugged, which was the most expressive thing he’d done all day, and continued eating. Neil was rather impressed with the apple, and decided that, even though he didn’t like sweets, he did like caramel apples. He felt that they were just the right blend of sugar and sour, and he liked the sprinkles on his half. He didn’t understand why Andrew would put chocolate chips on his half - it was too sweet, in Neil’s opinion, but Andrew didn’t ask Neil’s opinion on anything.

 

“What do you think?” Andrew asked quietly, studying the pumpkin patch and families in front of them.

 

“It’s good,” Neil said. He didn’t know what else to tell Andrew, but he figured that he could put the pieces together. He finished his half of the apple and crumpled the paper in his pocket.

 

Andrew nodded awkwardly. “Do you want to get a pumpkin?”

 

Neil turned to look at Andrew. “What happened to not being domestic?”

 

“Nicky will force us to come back if you don’t pick one.”

 

At that moment, Nicky bounded up the path with Erik following close behind, a wagon with pumpkins piled high being pulled behind him.

 

“Speak of the devil, and he shall come,” Andrew muttered, shoving the last of his caramel apple into his mouth.

 

“Neil!” Nicky said excitedly. “Did you pick a pumpkin yet? Or have you just been sitting here moping with Andrew this whole time?”

 

“We’ve been observing the people,” Neil answered somewhat truthfully.

 

Nicky rolled his eyes. “It’s okay, we picked pumpkins for everyone so that nobody would have to worry about coming all the way out here for just one. If they want more, they have to come on their own. We’ll meet you at the car, we’re going to go pay for all of these gourd-geous pumpkins!” He started laughing while Erik just rolled his eyes and smiled, following his boyfriend as they walked in the opposite direction of Andrew and Neil.

 

Andrew waited until Nicky and erik were out of sight before putting his hand on top of Neil’s. “Yes or no?”

 

Neil sighed contentedly. “Yes.”

 

Andrew leaned over and kissed him, and Neil could taste chocolate and caramel.


End file.
